debéisvsdecísWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“debéis” and “decís” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,210
“debéis” frequency rank
#7,286
“decís” frequency rank
32496
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debéis decís
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de deber. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de decir.

Where the eye mixes debéis and decís

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
debéis
5 ch
decís

Visual trap between debéis and decís

A purely visual mix-up. debéis ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs]) and decís ([d̪eˈsis]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

debéis is recorded at frequency rank #25,210, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ejs]. decís is at rank #7,286, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsis].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 32496, this pair ranks #201,660 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debéis vs decís

Shared letters: des. Private to "debéis": bié. Private to "decís": .

"debéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "decís" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "debéis" and "decís" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs] versus [d̪eˈsis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debéis" or "decís" show up more?
"decís" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,286 in our Spanish list, against #25,210 for "debéis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "debéis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decís" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #201,660 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debéis" and "decís" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debéis vs debías". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #201,660 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list